Richie Kotzen recently opened up about how he landed the guitarist position in Poison. He revealed the specific condition Bret Michaels set for hiring him to replace CC DeVille in an interview with Tone-Talk.
The guitarist shared details about his initial meeting with Michaels. He explained what ultimately secured him the role in the band.
“I met Bret Michaels at his house, and everything shifted when we sat down,” Kotzen said. “Because he was from PA as well, and we started talking about music and how much in common we had. And he’s naming records that I like, and I’m naming records that he liked. And all of a sudden I just said, ‘Wait a minute, this might be kind of cool.'”
Kotzen then revealed the key requirement that Michaels had for the position.
“And what got me in was he said, ‘We’re not just looking for a guy to come in and replace CC [DeVille]. We need someone that’s a writer, and we want to get with someone that’ll take the band in a new direction, a new chapter,'” he continued. “And that was me.”
The collaboration proved successful. However, it was ultimately short-lived.
“And I hit it off and started writing, and I think we made a great record together, me and the rest of the guys,” Kotzen said. “And then, one thing led to another, and I left the band, and I immediately got signed again as a solo artist to Geffen.”
Kotzen’s tenure with Poison marked a significant chapter in both his career and the band’s evolution during the early 1990s.
Wikipedia documented that Kotzen joined Poison in 1991 at the remarkably young age of 21. He brought his songwriting talents to co-write and perform on the album Native Tongue. The collaboration resulted in two top-twenty singles that he co-wrote, “Stand” and “Until You Suffer Some (Fire and Ice).” This demonstrated the commercial success of Michaels’ decision to prioritize songwriting ability over simply finding a replacement guitarist.
However, Kotzen’s time in Poison came to an abrupt end in 1993 due to personal conflicts involving former band relationships. Last.fm noted this development. Despite the brief duration, his contribution to Native Tongue represented a creative peak for the band during a transitional period in rock music.
Following his departure from Poison, Kotzen’s career trajectory validated Michaels’ initial assessment of his versatility as both a musician and songwriter. I Heart Guitar Blog reported that he went on to join the band Mr. Big and later became the frontman for The Winery Dogs. He also maintained a prolific solo career spanning over twenty albums that showcase his range across rock, blues, soul, and jazz fusion styles.
The guitarist’s collaboration with record producer Richie Zito further exemplified his ability to adapt and evolve musically. This friendship formed during the Poison era. This partnership helped create soulful records that reflected Kotzen’s diverse musical influences. It proved that Michaels’ emphasis on finding a writer who could take the band “in a new direction” was indeed prophetic of Kotzen’s future artistic development.
